We were talking yesterday about the online fundraising entity “Kickstarter.” There are many sites out there these days for the suddenly popular practice of “crowdfunding.” It isn’t so different from old-fashion panhandling, except you do it on the Web. I chose Kickstarter for our experiment, because it has been around; it’s a pioneer. Plus, they have real people in a real office somewhere in San Francisco. Several other things make Kickstarter different. It primarily serves creative projects, projects that supposedly have an appeal and a benefit to more than the supplicant. The biggest difference, however, is that fund raisers set a goal for a Kickstarter campaign at the outset, and if that goal is not met, no money is collected. I’m not sure why that’s a good thing, but it seems reasonable to me. Potential donors don’t get nickeled and dimed to death, I suppose. If the goal is exceeded, that is,well… exceedingly good.
It will work something like this. Readers, hereafter referred to as “you,” will not be buying anything. You will be contributing money to the project. More about that later. However, if you contribute at certain levels, you will receive a “reward.” Much more about that later, too. For example, you might choose to receive an Arlo & Janis back scratcher as a reward for pledging $25. Or more. (Did you catch that last part?) But don’t get excited; the back scratcher is just an example. More tomorrow.
182 responses to “Mr. Strand Man”
Ghost, sounds like a proper qualification to me.
The potatoes are in garden. We wash them before boiling. Then we mash them. You knew.
Miss Charlotte good chicken fried requires a good particular cut which is then run through a machine to tenderize it. In my case I beat the heck out of it with a special mallet. In the olden days cooks used the edge of a saucer. I can do it about any way.
You want to hear the cook going whap, whap, whap in kitchen.
Seasoning is mixed into flour dip, salt and pepper. You dip steak in flour, then dip into beaten eggs with small amount milk and flour mixed in, th r n double dip into flour again. This is fried in rather deep frying pan of oil.
The gravy is not browned but more of a be chameleon sauce, similar to what Southerners put on breakfast biscuits.
Some people put the “pan drappings ” in the gravy, some don’t and use a pure white gravy with lots of course black pepper. I use butter, oil, flour and heavy cream.
No Ghost you don’t have to kill anyone for me to cook for you unless you try to eat their steak.
The funniest gravy story I know involves a trip through west a few years ago. At Yellowstone National Park wherewe seemed to be only English speaking tourists.
They put this biscuits and gravy on hotel buffets, along with waffle irons. You know what happened. A bunch of foreign tourists filled all the waffle irons with the gravy, put the lids down and even flipped them over.
I doubt the motel got them cleaned.
I typed bechamel sauce and Hal changed to cameleon.
Jackie, it least they weren’t Japanese tourists with an aquarium in the buffet area. (I hope that’s not racist.)
I do wonder what a Belgium gravy waffle would come out looking like.
They came out all over sides and onto buffet table in a gray molten mess, not unlike the geophysical attractions in the park.
A mess.
Charlotte, my great-grandmother’s tenderizer had a wooden handle and a metal head. One side of the head was molded into little pyramid shaped points that tenderized the meat. The other side was a small hatchet blade. Like this, with a hatchet instead of the second tenderizer. https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/413MEmbcONL._SY300_.jpg
So, somehow, I am getting tossed back over to the innermost circle of hell for next week. The big fuel store with no manager and no staff. The poor assistant who has worked 23+ days straight, a minimum of 12 hours per day, has had no support from the boss despite REPEATED pleas for help, has finally had enough. I talked out of quitting (barely), and swore to her that come hell or high water, she will ONLY be working the hours I truly need her (day one, truck, and my day off for a wedding) and nothing else. I told the boss, I WOULD NOT go over there without a solid crew for the week and she had better be around to help too. She is getting a girl from another store (who is not fully trained) to run my store for the week. So I will still have to do the order for my store, and a few other mandatory tasks this girl will have no clue on how to complete. (Totally not her fault, but still sucks for me.) Boss was going to try to make me work this weekend too. Nope. I have plans this weekend and next, and I will NOT be missing them because she was avoiding her duties. This has been going on for a while now. My other old store isn’t faring much better. No manager there, and no real plan to install one any time soon. My old assistant gets one day every other week off because I took pity on her and worked my schedule to help her out. She needed help today because she was way off. Turns out she has a thief, and there are literally no bodies left to fill the 45 hours this person is supposed to be working next week. She is trying to move this week, and is near tears trying to figure out what to do.
If you hear a loud scream from up north, Debbe, it’s just me. I’d quit, but I just bought a 2014 Dodge Journey, and I’d rather like to keep it. If I survive until the end of next week, it will be a miracle.
And people wonder why I am so kind and nice to convenience store staff? One is gonna go postal some day but in meantime, let’s thank them for being there.
Somebody forgot what Lee Iacocca said.
The buck stops here? A favorite.
Lest anyone think I’m totally down in the dumps:
Early this week, I got annoyed by the layout of my kitchen. Fridge, washer, dryer, and a free standing cabinet jenga-ed around; still not happy with the results, but whatever. I managed to destroy the dryer vent in the process. I gave the fridge a twenty minute heart attack. It quit working. I smacked and kicked it a few times. Fiddled with the wires, thermostat. Swore at it a bunch. Stood there with my arms around it while I cussed myself for harassing such an old appliance, and wondering what I was going to next when it started working again. I guess it just needed a hug. Bought a new dryer vent, installed it today. Started laundry. Yelled at Thunder for lying on the buffet. Surprise! Washer was not sitting level and went nuts during the spin cycle. Too heavy with clothes and water to fix mid-wash, so I climbed on top, and sat on it to keep it from walking away. Thunder, spying me on the washer, padded into the kitchen to glare at me accusingly. Busted. 😀
And for the record, offically don’t understand the appeal of utilizing an off-balance washer for adult entertainment. 🙂
Oh, Mindy! Unbelievable that they can even stay in business, not running it properly, treating their employees like this! There oughta be a law — really! The Villagers will all be worrying about you, I sure will. Take care and Good Luck.
Many thanks to Ghost, to Mark, and to Jackie for enlightening me about these foods. They sound really good, although if I followed that recipe, I would cut down the amounts. That chef is awfully generous for only four people. And the buttermilk the steak is dipped in, I would include in the gravy, not just throw it out. Yes, to me gravy should be brown — but a white “sauce” is fine.
Debbe dear, best wishes that you can stay cool — as much as possible.
It is 10.30 at night and I know where McAlester, OK goes for Friday night date night, Walmart. I was going into a stress attack from crowds, lines, chaos. It was like Black Friday for no good reason. Parking lot is jammed.
Stopped in for flowers. Never reward yourself with food for doing something good like 45 minutes on a recumbent stepping cross trainer. Monday I up the settings, I am at 5 out of 10 right now. Bought two bunches of tiny spray roses for me, pinks and whites. Have to go arrange them.
Tomorrow I want to avoid the ten mile garage sale and heat, haven’t decided where. Mark suggested saw horses and police tale across back drive and front. Afraid my security is working the wrecks that always occur.
Lady Mindy, all I can say is the previously (and often) quoted “Illegitimi non carborundum”.
And that a hug also make me work better. 🙂
But do you *unoffically* understand the appeal of utilizing an off-balance washer for adult entertainment. 😉
Debbe 😉 Hon, you do realize that if I keep sending you tunes without reciprocity, I’m going to have to start adding a surcharge to mine, don’t you? 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbSGMRZsN4Q
I also still favor the Snake Sanctuary warning signs for Jackie, given the 4 foot plus copperhead her workers saw, the mini snakes that keep appearing in her garden, and the 5 foot long whatever it was in her drainage ditch after the flood. Those things will scare out more people than pitbulls.
Jimmy that is the funniest yet. Wish I had thought of it.
We never celebrated Mothers or Father’s Day for reasons I won’t go into but if it had involved sex I might have stood a chance. Or not .
Dog and I are having midnight snack of triple creme soft French cheese. I am having mine on apple. Dog has good taste, he won’t eat looks like cheese. Sometimes Walmart surprises me. I am having prosciutto and lime with my honeydew melon and English muffin in morning.
If I hadn’t had a melon cut I could have even had a French melon.
GM Jackie
Snack sounds good
GM Debbe
I don’t envy you moving all those eggs from one belt to another
Keep your dust mask on.
B’ugs
Good morning Villagers…..
Poor Indy Mindy…..I have on my screensaver a pic of Grumpy Cat with a lol that says “I use to smile, until I worked retail.” You need to have that pic hung somewhere in your office.
Old Bear, it’s even worse this morning. Unit 5 was down for a while, so we needed to run it by itself for a while. What does Ian do…..turn the belt speed up too fast and the dang belt wrapped, ripped in two different places….bottom one at that. So, we have to go in early to sew it in two different places, plus move a few eggs. I can’t stand it.
Thank you Miss Charlotte for the cool wishes.
Jerry , whzt did Lee Ioccoa say?
Happy Caturday….
GR 😉 firefox has crashed on me twice so far this morning, so real quick….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H06_0ApzkzY
….and I am sitting here looking at a full, bright moon too 🙂
I got to my mom’s apartment about 0630 this morning and a short while later looked out to see a female state trooper that lives in the complex flying down the driveway, doing wind sprints. She could arrest me anytime. No, that’s not sexist…I’m saying she could arrest me anytime she dang well pleased, as she appears to be mostly bone, sinew, and muscle.
Nice butt, though, but please don’t tell her I said so.
Lee Iacocca said, “Someone tell Joe Biden that if he writes his autobiography, he’d better not title it “Iacocco”.
I guess you had to have been there.
GR6, butt leering is a third degree misdemeanor subject to a fine not to exceed $100. Don’t ask how I know this odd fact.